titter
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
verb
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(intr) to snigger, esp derisively or in a suppressed way
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(tr) to express by tittering
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have titteredperfect
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has titteredperfect 3rd person singular
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am titteringprogressive 1st person singular
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are titteringprogressive
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have been titteringperfect progressive
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is titteringprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been titteringperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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titteringparticiple
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titterssingular 3rd person
Past
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had titteredperfect
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had been titteringperfect progressive
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titteredsimple
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was titteringprogressive singular
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titteredparticiple
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were titteringprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
Origin of titter
1610–20; perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse tittra to quiver, Swedish (dial.) tittra to giggle
Explanation
A titter is an awkward laugh at something that you shouldn’t be laughing at, like during dinner when Uncle Marvin makes a joke about your mother’s new hairstyle. If you try to hide your laugh, it’s probably a titter. A laugh that you can’t keep in but also can’t let out, that’s a titter. It usually happens in situations where you shouldn’t be laughing, like listening to your English teacher talk about a date he went on the night before, or when someone tells you a joke in a library. A titter is kinder than a snicker, less noticeable than a giggle, quieter than a chuckle, and way less fun than a chortle. Life’s a joke, laugh it up!
Vocabulary lists containing titter
Instead of "Said": Words for Upbeat Banter
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Gene Wilder (1933-2016) Tribute List
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The Lions of Little Rock
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He Causes People to Titter and Snicker The author of The Blind Bow-Boy is a tall, slim, white-haired, slightly florid young man of middle age.
From Time Magazine Archive
There is Billy Simper, Jack Chaffé, and Colonel Van Titter, Miss Promonade, and the two Miss Tambours, sometimes make a party, with some other ladies, in a side-box, at the play.
From The Contrast by Moses, Montrose Jonas
There is Billy Simper, Jack Chaffe, and Colonel Van Titter, Miss Promonade, and the two Miss Tambours, sometimes make a party, with some other ladies, in a side-box at the play.
From The Contrast by Tyler, Royall
Everytime a person gits to havin' fun, it's "come here, Titter and rake de yard."
From De Turkey and De Law A Comedy in Three Acts by Hurston, Zora Neale
Titter, tit′ėr, v.i. to giggle, snicker, or laugh with the tongue striking the teeth: to laugh restrainedly.—n. a restrained laugh.—ns.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
